Arthur Lemoine has taken on a significant new challenge within French department store group Galeries Lafayette. After three years as head of products and purchasing, Lemoine has now replaced his cousin Nicolas Houzé as CEO. His appointment signals the group’s intention to keep its operational running in the hands of the members of its founding family.

Houzé, who was named CEO in 2013, will now focus on his role as president of the Galeries Lafayette group’s executive committee, to which he was appointed last year.

“After over 10 years characterised by several transformations and challenges, Galeries Lafayette is ready to start a new chapter under the aegis of Arthur Lemoine,” said Houzé, who announced last year that the group would be investing €400 million to transform its stores by 2030. “Arthur is extremely familiar with the challenges facing the group, and its objectives. His strategic outlook, his ability to generate team spirit and his knowledge of the fashion and retail sectors make him the ideal leader to drive our new efforts. I am convinced that he will be able to steer Galeries Lafayette along an even bolder trajectory, working closely with our staff, and I wish him every success in the pursuit of this mission,” added Houzé.

Lemoine has in-depth knowledge of the group, where he has been working for the past 15 years. He was first directly involved as perfumery buyer for the BHV Marais department store, and later led the perfumery category for BHV Marais and Galeries Lafayette. He then took charge of the food category, and oversaw the introduction in the Marais district of the Eataly restaurant chain, which recently announced it is closing. 

Lemoine took the helm of the watches-jewellery business for the brands of the Louis Pion-Royal Quartz group in 2018, before assuming the role of head of purchasing at Galeries Lafayette. In this role, he spearheaded an assortment revamp for the luxury, designer and contemporary fashion sections within the Parisian department store’s boulevard Haussmann flagship, a task for which he had many opportunities of interacting with brands and the media. Galeries Lafayette’s boulevard Haussmann branch is said to have topped the €2 billion revenue mark in the group’s latest fiscal year. Lemoine is a member of Galeries Lafayette’s executive committee, and he runs Lafayette Anticipations, the group’s corporate foundation.

“It is with profound pride and great humility that I take this new responsibility within Galeries Lafayette, succeeding Nicolas,” said Lemoine in a press release. “For over 15 years, I have had the privilege of contributing to the development of this unique family business venture that showcases the finest creativity to the widest audience by promoting a specific vision of French art of living. I am fully aware of the responsibility I now carry, and I am committed to continuing our mission with dedication and passion, in order to promote an ambitious, audacious, and forward-looking retail experience, in France and beyond our borders,” he added.

Lemoine will be in charge of a department store fleet that includes 57 branches in France, only 19 of them owned by the Galeries Lafayette group with the remaining 38 operated by franchisees. The group also has 11 branches with partners outside France, some of them already active, like those in China, or in the pipeline, as that in New Delhi, India.